leadership

  • Do We Need A Department of Effectiveness?

    As things get really tight, it will feel like the safe thing to do is stick with what you know. Double down on the same processes, hire the same people and hope technology will save us. The problem of course… Continue reading

    Do We Need A Department of Effectiveness?
  • Understanding Spreadability in Innovation

    Guerrilla gardening, a movement born in New York City, spread globally as a way to reclaim neglected spaces. The movement gained momentum through word-of-mouth and grassroots activism. It emphasized clandestine planting and direct action. Will Lilley, from NHS England, highlighted… Continue reading

    Understanding Spreadability in Innovation
  • The Growing Bureaucratisation Of Life

    Many organisations , without realising it , act as inhibitors of creativity. Rules and protocols are put in place – often for very good reasons – that preserve the status quo.  Over time, organisations develop a set of social norms – ‘the way we… Continue reading

    The Growing Bureaucratisation Of Life
  • Efficiency Isn’t Always Effective

    Being efficient is not half as effective as conventional management would like to think. Working across health, the criminal justice system, mental health, housing, social care, or education requires us to take a whole person view of someone. It requires… Continue reading

    Efficiency Isn’t Always Effective
  • In A Post-COVID World The Manager Is The Weak Link

    In an increasingly remote and distributed world of work the employees who will have the biggest impact on the most people will rarely be the official leaders at the top. Continue reading

    In A Post-COVID World The  Manager Is The Weak Link
  • Ending Our Obsession With Leadership

    Organisations need to completely rethink what it means to lead. It’s not about one person or even those residing at the top anymore. In today’s world, everyone has to adopt a leadership mindset. We have to think of ourselves as… Continue reading

    Ending Our Obsession With Leadership
  • How To Find And Kill Zombie Projects

    According to Clayton Christensen , of the 30,000 new consumer products that are launched each year – 95% fail. Compare this with the public, voluntary and non-profit sectors – where hardly anything fails. The social sector must either be fantastic at launching… Continue reading

    How To Find And Kill Zombie Projects
  • How your culture can promote innovation

    “Organisational culture is the sum of values and rituals, which serve as ‘glue’ to integrate the members of the organisation.” – Richard Perrin I spent a wonderful day in Belfast this week with a group of Housing Organisations. It was refreshing… Continue reading

  • Get Social, Embrace Disruption: Serving the Connected Customer

    I’m thinking it’s about 6 minutes to midnight on the Digital Doomsday Clock. Time is running out on the organisations who are yet to board the bus. Yet to start the journey to being different businesses serving changed customers on… Continue reading

  • 20 Things They Never Told Us About Going Social

     ‘Pecha Kucha’ (literally – “Chit Chat” in Japanese) is a short presentation of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each. The 20×20 format allows the presenter to talk for six minutes and 40 seconds – no more, no less –… Continue reading

  • How Social Is Your CEO?

    Last week I ran a workshop for a number of Chief Executives. Whilst preparing my slidedeck (which is featured above) I spoke to a friend who is the Managing Director of a medium sized business. They have a very basic website.… Continue reading

  • Adapt or Die: 3 Challenges To Going Digital

    Yesterday was a significant day. The sector in which I work put on a huge show of newly found digital awareness. My Twitter timeline nearly melted. As Shirley Ayres correctly observed: This , just one year after the 2012 Northern… Continue reading

  • How Your Social Media Policy Could Kill Your Culture

    I love Social Media. But really, it’s not that important. Not compared to some things. I’ve begun to see a few posts suggesting that companies need to take more control over their employees social media output. That word – ‘control’… Continue reading

  • Let’s make job descriptions inspirational….

    About 3 months ago I posted a blog/rant about why most Job Descriptions are complete rubbish. You know what I’m talking about. You read the one for the job you are doing now. Uninspiring: Although you said it was really… Continue reading

  • Social Media: A Trust Thing

    I’m lucky. I’m part of an organisation where everyone has access to social media. Anyone can set up a Facebook or Twitter account. Anyone can blog. Without restriction. No Policy. One Rule – “If you wouldn’t say it out loud… Continue reading

  • It’s our Birthday – Top Learnings of Bromford Social Media Year One

    Last night – at our Board – the Chair opened the meeting with a question that I was utterly unprepared for. “Does anyone have an objection to people tweeting during this meeting? As long as they keep the comments relevant… Continue reading

  • Job Descriptions are rubbish…..My Top 5 new rules

    Did some work on some JD’s this week. I’ve been messing around them for some time – really struggling to articulate what I wanted. On Wednesday morning at 9:40am it struck me. Somebody , somewhere , about 50 or 60… Continue reading